White Lips, Pale Face
by givemefoodplease
Summary: When Nyota is forced to be Spock's partner on a freezing cold survival trip to a distant moon, she is reluctant. But soon, in this dangerous, freezing cold environment , she ironically warms to him Spock/Uhura , rated T maybe for later chapters.
1. Introductions

Right, well. This is my first EVER fanfiction. So I am a total noob. Very much a total noob. My first chapter is really short, so even if you really don't like it please stick through it and give me a review telling me what to improve, and if you think I should carry on with it or just forget it :) Thanks! (I own nothing, and apologise in advance for any errors, be it factual or grammatical!)  
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Nyota furiously flung underwear, pants and uniform shirts into her bag, extremely agitated. Unorganised was not her style, and she hated it. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and she didn't want to hold up all of her fellow Cadets just so she could fold a few t-shirts.  
"Gaila! Start packing!" She exclaimed panic-stricken, wondering how on earth her room-mate could be so calm when she was in such a massive rush.  
Her green friend just sat on the edge of her bed, looking amused. Nyota uttered a string of profanities as she threw things into a disorganised mess, and after everything was in there, she stood up quickly, her swearing made worse by the whack suffered by her head as she jumped up and hit it on a beam.  
"...Nyota?" Galia said innocently, trying hard to conceal the laughter bubbling up her throat. Gaila loved a good joke, and when she let out a girlish giggle, Nyota, finally suspecting something, whirled around, hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised.  
"Yes?" She said, a sarcastic tone in her voice.  
"I suppose now would be a bit late to remind you that it's Thursday. We leave tomorrow, you fail" Gaila reminder her room-mate.  
"...Oh" Nyota said as she collapsed onto her bed, a grin widening on her face at her own stupidity.  
"Why didn't you tell me before I made a mess of my stuff?" She complained, humour flashing in her dark coloured eyes.  
"It's kinda more fun this way. I get to laugh at you," Gaila grinned. She know Nyota would forgive her. She looked fondly at her human friend, her face lit up with humour and affection. She didn't know what she would do without Nyota. Well... She knew exactly who she would do, but that was beside the point. Nyota tended to tame her 'wild' side; a side that she inherited from her Orion genes, one that every Orion had.  
"We'll, now that we're both up" She said this with a little playful accusation in her voice, "We may as well go grab some breakfast".

Nyota quickly drew a brush through her tangled hair, smoothing the black tresses down, and wound it loosely in a messy bun on the back of her head. Usually, it was tied smartly back off her face, but today she really couldn't be bothered to be her usual pristine self. She thought about putting her usual make-up on, reached for her eyeliner, and then retracted her hand. She was only going to breakfast, and she was tired. She and her friend trekked down to the cafeteria, Nyota looking uncharacteristically bare-faced and messy.

She rolled her eyes as Gaila slid onto a seat next to McCoy, leaving open to Nyota the seat opposite her, which just so happened to be the one next to Kirk. She was preparing to blank the annoying Cadet, but as he began to talk to her, she softened her rigid posture. He wasn't actually being that bad this morning. They talked as a group of four for a few minutes, and when Gaila turned to talk quietly to McCoy, Kirk turned to Nyota, a mischievous grin on his face. The next sentence that passed through his smirking lips shattered her opinion of him for today.

"So, me or the robot, huh?"  
As Gaila over heard this, she winced. Nyota still hadn't forgiven her for going on the other survival training field trip- the one located on a hot, dry planet quite near to Earth. The trip that they has both planned to go on beforehand was the cold weather one. When Gaila changed her mind last minute, she left Nyota partnerless. After fuming about this for an hour when Gaila told her, she then realised that it would mean choosing between one of two people.  
A trip partner shared everything in the week away- a tent, food rations, maps, the lot. Before Gaila cancelled on her, Nyota was actually looking forward to the week away, to escape from the slightly boring atmosphere of the academy. But now her closest friend wasn't going to be with her, and all her other friends had already chosen partners, she was left with the choice of the two other unpartnered people on the trip. One, naturally being Kirk(although he had plenty of offers) and the other, naturally being everyone's favourite Vulcan, all together now: Spock!...  
What a fun trip she had ahead of her, she thought glumly.


	2. First Impressions

Chapter Two

The group began to file on to the small, silver grey ship; designed not to carry a crew, but passengers and a pilot. Nyota's insulating silvered boots made a strange muted click on the steps, and she sighed. She jammed the little switch on the side upwards, to try and retract the metal snow spikes up into the sole, with no luck. She gave up, and winced as the annoying sound went right through her head.  
She reached the top of the stairs, and turned into the seating room; a narrow, long chamber with twelve seats set out in pairs. She was the last one on the ship, so with a quick glance behind her she pushed down the button to shut the heavy door. As she walked towards the seats, her boots clacked, irritating her. They had all been given practically new equipment for the training trip. Emphasis on the practically. Whatever the person whose feet has occupied the boots before her had done to them, she couldn't find a way to fix them.  
The boots were designed to keep heat in, important for cold weather, and also had retractable studs for gripping snow. Well, almost retractable. In her rucksack slung over one shoulder, she carried her standard issue insulated, silvered gloves, hat and coat (All light weight and packed in vacuum bags for minimal storage space). They also has issued water bottles, whistles for seeking attention, dry soap/shampoo and a small, handheld phaser. The phaser was set to stun the wildlife living on the cold moon, which Terrans and other humanoids had placed here in an effort to stop them from being extinct a while ago, due to pollution and global warming.  
The reason they were not issued with electric communicators was that, although available, communicators that worked efficiently in extreme weather were rather expensive. They were told that they were to go without- it would also help replicate the conditions they would be in if they were stranded in a cold environment while on a mission.

Nyota pushed the strap of her bag up her shoulder, stopping it from falling off, and saw that the seat she was planning to take, next to Kirk, was taken. She groaned. She had decided that she was going to partner up with Kirk for the week, just before the shuttle arrived. But she hasn't told him, assuming that she wouldn't need to  
"Hey, Uhura?"  
Kirk called to get her attention.  
"Olive here was a latecomer, I said she could be my partner. That's cool with you, yeah?"  
Inside, Nyota cursed herself. Her logic for choosing him over her instructor was that, as much as she disliked him, she couldn't deny that he was amusing sometimes.  
"Mmhm,"  
She mumbled her assent while her eyes scanned the rows for the empty seat that would be hers. She found it- right at the front of the room. Perched on the seat next to it, straight backed and straight faced was the tall, pale, dark-haired Vulcan. She sighed, ever so slightly as she moved towards it and sat down.  
" Is everything adequate, Cadet Uhura? I noticed that as you sat down, you exhaled louder that usual. I have observed that among humans, this is treated as an expression of discontent. Am I correct?"  
A smooth voice came from beside her, and she turned around to make eye contact with him. It took her two seconds to process the question, she was hung on the wonderful sound his unaccented standard made in her ears. She considered lying, and then remembered that he was a Vulcan, which meant it wouldn't be wise. Damn those Vulcans and their supersonic hearing, she thought.  
"Yes, you are correct, Commander. My friend, who I was going to parter with, decided last minute to go on the hot weather trip running at the same time as this one, and I am afraid that this trip will not be as enjoyable without her."

"I presume that you will still find this trip educational without her, so not all is lost"

She was almost certain that she heard a hint of dry sarcasm in his tones, but decided that she must be making things up. Vulcans don't make jokes. She decided to ask the commander a question that had been niggling at the edge of her mind for a few days now.

"Excuse me for asking, Commander Spock, but I was under the impression that Vulcans do not like cold weather. Why did you choose to go on this trip, not the hot weather survival trip?" She asked Spock, curiosity in her voice. After he expressed concern for her well being, she decided, he didn't seem that daunting anymore.  
"I have never experienced such cold weather before- it is only logical that I receive the necessary training before I serve on The Enterprise" He stated matter-of-factly. Nyota was surprised. Did that mean he had never seen snow before? She wondered, shocked.  
"Have you never experienced snow or ice before, then, Commander Spock?" She asked him. All teacher-to-student conversations were quite formal, but she struggled to stay quite as formal as Spock seemed to be speaking. She decided that, as they were going to be spending a week together, she may as well learn how to get on with him.  
They made small talk for the rest of the trip, Spock only humouring her as he knew that humans thought of long periods of silence as awkward, and he had no intention of making the Cadet feel uncomfortable.

As the door hissed open, revealing a world of blinding light, a gust of cold air swept into the craft, raising good natured shouts of complaint.  
"I would suggest donning your coat now, Cadet." Spock stated, already pulling his long arms through his. The coats were coloured bright green, to stand out against both the snow and the sky.  
Nyota looked up at his face when she heard him speak, and noticed how the green colour accented his features. She had never really studied his face before, and while he was busy putting on his jacket and gloves, she took the opportunity.  
His strong nose and cupid-bowed lips looked quite human, she noticed, and suprisingly, so did his brown eyes, currently narrowed against the glare of the snow. However, his diagonal shaped brows, sculpted cheekbones and, of course, his pointed ears were distinctly Vulcan. He had a very handsome face, she noticed, surprised that she didn't realise this before.  
"Cadet Uhura?" Spock repeated, interrupting her thought train.  
"Ahh..." She said as she tried to recall what he had advised her to do. "Oh yes, good idea Commander Spock"  
"It's only logical" he stated as she unzipped her bag, clearly not taking the remark she had made as the mild compliment it was intended as. She pulled the black fabric over her head, and pushed her arms into the sleeves. She immediately felt more comfortable- it was surprising how much difference the thinly padded coat could make. Her gloves- matching the coat in colour- quickly proceeded the coat, followed by a pair of white earmuffs she had thought to pack for herself.  
As Spock made his way to the door, she walked behind him, quickly followed by the rest of the Cadets. Her boots clacked down the stairs as she walked, and she head Spock's crunch on the snow, for the first time in his life.


	3. Uncomfortable

This took a while. Sorry about that by the way.

As you can probably tell, I'm not a professional writer. In fact, I'm nota professional anything yet- I'm still a teenager. So, criticism is welcomed. As long as you keep wanting it, I'll keep writing it! Also, I'm British, so apologies for any readers over the pond who spell words differently, or say pants instead of trousers.

SPOCK'S POV  
The Vulcans eyebrows raised as the frozen water crystals- snow, shifted and displaced beneath his feet. He tested the ground before he put his full weight down, the logical thing to do.  
He was wary as to the snow, and rightly so. Vulcan, the world he was raised on, was a desert planet. Snow didn't fall on Vulcan, the high temperatures wouldn't allow the droplets of water to freeze. He recalled the hot dry sands and baking rocks of his homeland, and felt a pang of emotion.  
Shocked at himself, he shut his eyes and attempted the briefest meditation session he had ever had, lasting all of ten seconds. The emotion, he remembered from his days as a conflicted child, was longing. It wasn't that he hadn't experienced any emotion since he was young, he was not a computer, as much as Sarek had tried to drill it into him. It was just this particular emotion was far from usual in him.  
"Commander?"  
A sudden, concerned question broke into his rivière, and two seconds later his eyes snapped wide open, and he winced as his dilated pupils contracted rapidly against the startling white light.  
"Are you alright?  
He looked in the direction the voice was coming from, and angled his head slightly downwards to meet his gaze to Cadet Uhura's, as was customary to Terrans.  
"Indeed,"  
He stated. Then he oddly felt as though he should give an explanation.  
"I apologise. I was merely processing the new experience and information. "  
He shocked himself at this half truth. Vulcans do not lie. But, technically, it wasn't entirely untrue. He was processing an experience and information,he told himself, but still he felt as though he has corrupted the Cadet.  
"Gather everyone, come and stand around me."  
Called the loud voice of the man in charge of the mission. Captain Holden was a rather tall, strongly built man, with defined musculature and a face, Spock understood, that many women from Earth would probably find aesthetically appealing.  
Spock dipped his head towards the cadet, and then made his was over the snow towards the Captain. The crunch of the compressing ice crystals beneath his feel was a novel experience, and one that he was not quite sure he enjoyed. He stood behind the loosely ordered arrangement of cadets, and listened to the voice of his commanding officer.

"Right. We're going to jump straight into it, because I know that when I was a cadet many years ago," His eyes sparkled with amusement , a human emotion. "I hated long speeches. I'm assuming that it hasn't changed much, mmh?"  
The crowd mumbled their assent, eager to get moving. Spock assumed they were cold. He conducted a swift check over his metabolic functions, and found himself too to be feeling the sub-zero temperatures.  
"We need to walk north-east until we find a suitable spot to set our tents up. Now, as this trip is planned and were on a schedule, we can't afford to be wandering round for days, not finding stable ground. So, I know the precise location of our to-be campsite. But for effect let's just pretend I didn't tell you that. Let's get moving!"  
Some of the cadets laughed at this, and followed the instructor,walking in groups of three or four. Spock waited until the last cadets had started moving, and began walking at the back of the group. He heard footsteps to the side of him, and looked down to find himself next to Cadet Uhura.  
The harrowing wind beat against his coat, and chilled his sensitive ears. He was glad he had decided to wear two undershirts. Spock found himself to be slightly uncomfortable, and tried to raise his body temperature, but for some reason he had no controll over the matter. Uncharacteristically, the half Vulcan let out a small sigh of discontent; similar to the one he had heard Cadet Uhura execute on the shuttle there.  
It was illogical to assume he would be able to change his metabolic rate to suite the frozen climate of his current location- his race had evolved in the sweltering heat of the desert. Spock thought of himself as part of the Vulcan race, illogically however, because he knew that his heritage was half human. He felt little connection to the loud, illogically emotional creatures that he spent most of his time around.  
The rest of the walk was trying. He had began to shiver on the way, but he tried to ignore the way his lower jaw and teeth vibrated against his skull with the short muscle contractions. He leant into the relentless wind, and wrapped his arms around his chest to try to conserve body heat, but found that the gesture made no difference. The chill that had reached his bones was beyond uncomfortable: it was highly unpleasant. Yet, with this in his mind, he recalled that humans often visited climates such as these for recreation, and participated in sports on the snow. Another illogical habit, he thought. He could not understand why a being would put themselves knowingly into a position of discomfort with no logical gain.  
He had voiced his confusion to his human mother when he was an adolescent, and his bemusement had grown significantly when her features had moved into a smile, and a laugh issued from her throat.  
"Because it's fun!" She had replied.  
To this day, even though he would not admit it to anyone else, let alone her, he still didn't entirely understand the concept. The idea that someone would partake in a pastime with no benefit physically or intellectually while another option was available that provided both was a mystery to him. Why watch a holoflim about human romantic relationships when you could choose a factual film about a historic event.  
Human nature as a whole was confusing to him, and he made a mental note to study it in depth at a later date, to try and broaden his knowledge on the matter.

As the small party continued their walk, the sun grew more intense, and several of the Cadets placed a hand to their eyes to shield them from the glare of the light off the reflective ice and snow. The sun, however, did little to warm the group of instructors and cadets, to the disappointment of one member who was feeling the cold more than the others, due to his unexpected lack of control of his body temperature.  
To say Spock was in-content would be a large under-exaggeration. If he was human, he would describe his current situation as miserable, very miserable. However, he was a Vulcan, so the in exact description would have to suffice. Vulcans didn't speak of emotions, and misery was an emotion. He definitely regretted signing up for this trip.  
At the time, it had seemed logical. He had not experienced sub-zero temperatures before- even on Earth. He constantly migrated, and in the Winter Break, he resided in a much warmer climate, like Australia. He was so determined in his efforts of 'chasing the sun', as him mother put it, that he rarely experienced climates much colder than a crisp Autumnal day in San francisco.  
"Are you OK, Commander?"  
The concerned voice from beside him broke his train of thoughts. He recognised the voice, but looked down anyway to find his own eyes caught by the gaze of his partner. Apart from a slight red flush on her cheeks and ears, the Cadet seemed to be dealing with the cold well. Perhaps she often partook in illogical 'Winter Sports', so was accustomed to the freezing temperatures.  
As he quickly wondered about the grounds for her inquiry, he found that his posture was hunched up against the cold, contorted into a position that, if sustained, would create negative effects on his spine. He quickly corrected his position, and straightened his spine. The second thing he realised was that his face was not his usual mask of Vulcan calm, but set into a deep frown, his eyebrows drawn in tight together, broadcasting his discomfort towards the whole party. He felt his face relax back to neutral, and he clasped his hands behind his back again.  
"I am ex-xperiencing n-negative effects from the c-cold weather, C-Cadet, but apart f-from that every th-thing is a-adequate"  
He stuttered out a response, giving up on trying to still the constant chatter of his teeth vibrating together. The fact that she had noticed his lapse made him uncomfortable.


End file.
